Hong Kong's Revenge

by Atsuko Suzuki, Kurihashi, Saitama, Japan

From SIF SATELLITE issue 44, Summer 1996

Last September my mother and I went to Hong Kong together as members of a group tour. What made me to go there was that I had two clear-cut reasons that my mother hadn't wanted to go any farther country, and in addition to that, as for me, I hadn't been to an Asian country before then.

The ad said "One night stay in Macau and two nights in Hong Kong at a luxury resort hotel, with all meals inclusive." It cost only ¥84,000 (US$840) per person. When my mother accompanied me to Spain and Italy three years ago, she had a serious problem with food. Above all, regarding my mother's age she undoubtedly preferred staying at such an authentic hotel to a back-packers' facilities. So without deep consideration I regarded it as a reasonable tour. However, later we got to know that we should have been more prudent then.

On arriving at Kai Tak Airport, designated travel agents (they said they were tour guides) were waiting for the members (about 10 to 12 people) of the tour to make them gathered and put them into a mini-bus. All "sight seeing courses" had already been determined and participants couldn't refuse it to do fly-solo. Guides could speak Japanese so fluently that they explained origins and histories of their country with abundant vocabulary.

In Macau our guide took us to some famous sight seeing places such as the Barrier Gate (China-Portugal border), Kun Lam Tong, and the Ruins of St. Paul's. Those were so fabulous and we really enjoyed seeing them. Sometimes he kindly helped us taking pictures. However, to my surprise, where he swang by at last was a jewellry shop so-called "certified by the Macau Government"! I hadn't felt like buying jewellry, but the ambience of the shop was really intimidating. While clerks served us complimentary fruit juice, staffs started sales pitch, with loud and almost threatning voices. It seemed that if you hadn't bought something, you would never have seen outside once again. A man with strong will might not care it at all, my mother and I got to give in and wound up buying a ring made of jade, which Chinese believe to bring big fortune, and, a ring and a cross-shaped pendant head which were made of ruby. Totally we paid there about ¥100,000 (US$1,000). If we had been jewellry dilettantes, we would have been very lucky to get precious stones of reasonable price. Even so, however, their manners of sales seemed too excessive.

Back in Hong Kong more surprising things were waiting for us. After getting to the ferry port, Hong Kong's tour guide took us to some sightseeing places such as Tin Hau Temple and Victoria Peak by mini-bus. At that time he was with a photographer. At each place when we took pictures each other, this photographer also took our pictures without our palpable consent. But I had already guessed that they would absolutely sell them to us. (Later the guide told us that we could buy pictures at the airport last day of the tour.) When we finished visiting the scheduled sites, he took us to dinnercruise.

So far I haven't talked about the meals of this tour, each meal tasted not bad, though, as for dinner we had Chinese food that is usually shared by more than two people at round rolling table. The tour members were strangers other than their accompanies, all of us thought (but nobody expressed it for a word) it was very unusual to share food with them. First, this style embarrassed us a little, but gradually we became accustomed to. However, to get unknown people together for meal, it is likely to be unveiled how they tried to slash the budget.

On the cruiser we enjoyed smorgasbord style dinner and Hong Kong's million-dollar night view. Although it was full of tourists, the view from the ship was really fascinating. Late at night the guide took us to the gorgeous hotel. Its location was little bit of inconvinience from downtown, my mother liked the spacious room very much.

The next day was totally hell. According to agency's program, the day was allotted for all day shopping. From morning to evening, we got to be taken to various shops here and there. Each shop had already determined by the travel agency, which seemed to pay certain rate of kickback to the agency or even tour guides as tour members purchase their products. We went to a jewellry factory (jewellry again! I don't know why sightseeing tours make us something to do with jewellry all time.) to see how stones were manufactured, a silk shop, a Chinese traditional goods shop, and a leather goods shop (they said the manager was Jackie Chan) for half a day. At Chinese traditional goods shop, staffs were very pasty and did all effort to sell any one thing to us. My mother told a staff member that she didn't want anything, though, he wrapped up a Chinese ink pot, saying "This is only 9,000 yen (US$90), you can't buy it of this price at any other place so you'd better take it now!" My goodness! Almost a fraud! Later he got furious because my mother got out of there when he had finished wrapping it up. He seemed to complain it to the guide.

At the leather goods shop, as soon as we stepped inside, female staff rushed and eventually one of them stuck to me. She passed me bags one by one, saying " How about this? Do you like this bag?" She didn't give me a second to let me look for my favorite ones. If I said "I want to take a look.", she said " O.K.", but immediately handed me out the bags she thought nice. This hastled me so much that finally I had to do a compulsive shopping. I ended up taking two bags both of which costed me much. (¥53,000 US$530- for two bags.) Had I been dying to look for bags at that time, I would have felt happier, though, I couldn't let the idea be gone that I was zapped. Of course we customers do have the ultimate determination and we can say "No, I don't buy anything". Then no staffs come close to us. However, the ambience of each shop where the tour guide takes is, without exception, anyhow intimidating. Perhaps they know that we Japanese easily pay money like hicks so such manners are permissible. (Or this might be a sweet vengance against what Japanese had done to Chinese by the end of World War II. Then all Japanese decendents should be more tolerant for this!?)

Anyway, the last place we went after these hastling shops was Duty Free Shop. Almost for three hours he left us there. Unfortunately we were not brand goods lovers, and there were countless Japanese "mobs" inside, three hours cruising was strictly untolerable for us. We got away, going to a tiny fountain park near there. We just sat down on the bench, nibbling fried potato bought at MacDonald's in front of it. We were talking about our past and future traveling. Although the contents of our discussion was interesting, we couldn't be so much happy as it was, because we felt three hour free time would have let us go more interesting places in Hong Kong. Whenever I asked of visiting some other places, the guide told us that we didn't have much time during this tour, so we couldn't do that by ourselves. He was very kind, but now I think he was just faithful not to customers but to his duty. The more customers he takes to the shops, the more kickback he gets. But he doesn't know, or even if he knows, he doesn't care that in the meantime the more Japanese tourists begin to have bad impression of Hong Kong.

When we moved to DFS to Women's Street after dinner, he started selling cosmetics, tea, chocolate, etc., in the bus. My mother and I were exhausted at daytime's shopping cruise and we wound up buying two packages of chocolate for gift for our co-workers. A package of chocolate could be found anywhere, but we could not stand the noise of his sales pitch. Then on behalf of the old driver, he sold some junk toys and key chains as Hong Kong's souvenirs. He said that the driver was poor and by selling these things to tourists he made ends meet. At this time not only we but also the rest of tour members seemed to be fed up with his sales. In the long run, all of us bought something not for greed but for charity. When he finished selling, I saw he took about 10% cash kickback from the driver. Their faces looked satisfied.

The last day, we had a half day free time for afternoon flight. But the guide once again took us to DFS "not to forget to buy things necessary." Thanks to his kindness! Without saying anything, we ran out of there and went to the seaside promnade to take some pictures and to kill time. Hong Kong Island looked beautiful from Tsim Sha Tsui side on that day. Feeling totally defeated, I made up my mind to come here one more time all by myself. But the tour didn't end here.

After all shopping chases, we were at the check-in counter at the airport. During the check in procedures, the photographer suddenly appeared and showed us packages of pictures and picture dishes. The pictures he took were widened, decorated as "Memorial in Hong Kong". From one of them a picture dish was made. Ours was which taken at Victoria Peak. I didn't think these were nice nor did I really want them. However, I didn't want that a third person whom I don't know would see and break them if we rejected, either. So thinking too expensive, I paid ¥5,500 (US$550) for three pictures (one for ¥900 (US$9)) and a dish (¥2,800 (US $28)). They are still in my house and set on the shelf.

For these reasons, my impression on Hong Kong had been quite bad by the end of January, 1996, when I went to Hong Kong once again. (Continued Next Issue)

Hong Kong Hospitality

by Atsuko Suzuki, Kurihashi, Saitama, Japan

From SIF SATELLITE issue 45, Fall 1996

Atsuko returns to Hong Kong after her harrowing tour experience there, described last issue...

Having saved 20,000 miles on United Airlines' mileage program, I obtained a free ticket from Tokyo to Hong Kong. No travel agency was involved this time, I could make whole plan of the trip. I was lucky that I had a Hong Kongnese friend in Tokyo, whose brother worked for a Hong Kong's luxury hotel. I asked him for a reservation, and eventually I could stay there for 50% discount. Surprisingly, my room was upgraded to club members' at this price, they treated me like an executive. My friend's brother and his fellows were very kind, they came to pick me up at the airport, showed me the city by car and told me where and what. During my stay they invited me for dinner time to time, and mostly it was on them.(They say it is Chinese way to entertain their friends.) They were never reluctant to answer tourist's banal questions about the location or transportation. Thanks to their advice, I could go anywhere I wanted. I visited Ocean Park, Sung Dynasty Village, Chuk Lam Monestry and Won Tai Sin Temple. Even nightclubbing I could do.

I was rumbling around the city by bus, subway, ferry and walkby my own way. Only a three-day trip, I think what I got from this trip was beyond description. Perhaps I was luckier than people who don't have any acquaintance there. But for my friends, I couldn't have had such a nice, comfortable stay, even though it was my second visit. However, it is true that I found Hong Kong's totally different aspects comparing with the first visit. During my first stay, from the tour guide to shop staff, people spoke Japanese, wanting Japanese yen instead of Hong Kong dollars. Providing the same atomosphere as Japan, they may think they make us feel secure, but I felt really bored without exotic excitement in a foreign country. They seemed to think that to take too much care of us was a customer service, but I felt I had no initiative, like an infant. Obviously they tried to squeeze me to splurge my budget, seemingly their interest was only money, so I thought Hong Kongnese were really sly. But the second time, with many people's hospitality, I came to know that that was just a trivial part of this city. The city stood solemnly but never interefered with what I did. I took initiative and created my own travel. Thanks to first time tour experience, I could really enjoy the second one.

Although it is quite obvious which is better for me, however, I wouldn't say that tours are nothing but a waste of time. If you love shopping, having little time for shop research, you take the advantage of the tour which takes you to designated shops to realize the effective shopping. During the tour you don't have to worry about the meals. Besides these, you can see three or four sightseeing places. With much caution, you can deal with pasty noisy sales and keep them away from you. Even if you end up buying a trivial thing, it is not a big deal regarding the tour price.

I want to visit Hong Kong again if I have a chance. But I will never go there in a tour any more because one time experience is enough for me. I like traveling abroad not for shopping but for touching different cultures and people living in it. I want to communicate with local people even in short time, not just to deliver money. (Even if I actually drop money by consumption.)

So, you readers, please be careful when you choose the style of traveling. What I have stated here so far is about Hong Kong, however, in many Asian countries same kind of things possibly happen. Tourists pay much money in the short run, but later they become to hate the way done to them, scorning and hating the country itself in the long run. In the worst case, they never want to visit there again. Travel agencies, shop staff and even tour guides don't care that they have to lose their customers in the long span. This brings no profit for both sides.

The only way you can go now is to be wise tourists, always try to take initiative. Say "No", when you really don't want it. If you positively spend money even at such shops, you won't regret it. But if you unwillingly do, you will feel blue, at last you may hate not only shop staffs but also the country you visit.

The conclusion I've got is that individual travel is much better than a group tour, though, yours is always up to you, as the incentive which drives you there. If you don't forget it, your travel becomes always more creative.

 

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